Underestimated
by HungryHeart x
Summary: Ruth had been saved but she never thought that she would be the person who would save someone else.
1. Chapter 1

Underestimated

Chapter 1

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Feeling like you don't belong, that you aren't wanted and that there is no hope can leave a person feeling isolated, numb even. This was exactly how Ruth had felt for the last four years. Ever since her parents had died and she had been put into foster care she felt as though nothing mattered anymore.

She had no real family left and she didn't fit in with her new family either. She always felt out-of-place with them. She had no friends. She had no hope. Waking up every morning felt like a disappointment to her, life had become a chore. Life didn't show any signs of improving so at only fifteen years old Ruth decided that she was finally going to end her pain, end her loneliness, and end her life. She had been contemplating this for a while now but it just felt like now was the time.

As she descended the stairs leading to the door Ruth let a tears roll down her cheek. Her new family who had tried to welcome her into their family would never see her alive again. They would never get to say goodbye but she knew this was how it would have to be. She had to just go. She had to be free.

Before she knew it Ruth was standing atop an apartment building. All of a sudden time seemed to stand still. Everything slowed down. She felt as if she was dreaming. The rain began to pour down and soak through her clothes. The rain seemed to wash away any doubts that had crept into her mind. This was it, she would finally be free. She stretched her arms out to the side and threw her head back. Ruth took one last look at the stars above before she stepped forward of the ledge of the building.

But she didn't fall. Instead she had been pulled back from the ledge, pulled back onto the roof.

She began to sob violently as the person who had saved her held her close. It felt like hours had passed before Ruth finally stopped crying and looked at the person who had saved her. It was a man. Then she noticed the uniform, he was a cop. She immediately began to fight against him. She thought she was going to be in trouble.

"Calm down, I won't hurt you" He reassured. Ruth could tell from his eyes that he was sincere. She could tell from his face that he had been through a lot. He was young yet aged looking.

"It's ok you are safe now" He spoke softly to her as he stood up and held out his hand to help her, which Ruth took.

"I'm Ruth" She finally announced which earned her a smile from the officer.

"I'm Brian" He replied as he led her back down the stairwell and to his apartment door. Ruth felt her heart begin to race, he may have been a cop but she wasn't sure of his intentions. As he fished his keys out of his pocket Ruth began to slowly step back from him.

"Ruth, don't be afraid. I'm going to take you inside and get you something warm to drink. You must be freezing. Then if Olivia is up to it we will take you to the hospital to get you checked out ok?"

"Olivia?" Prompted Ruth.

"Olivia is my girlfriend. She is a cop too. Now come on in and let's get you warmed up." He explained as he opened the door and let her in.

As she entered she noticed a figure asleep on the sofa. 'That must be Olivia' she thought. Brian immediately boiled the kettle to make her something warm to drink. Then he disappeared into one of the bedrooms and came out with some clothes and a towel to dry herself of with.

"These are Olivia's clothes. They are probably a bit big but at least they are dry. Anyway the bathroom is down the hallway and to the right. Why don't you go get yourself dried off while I fix you up something warm to drink?" Brian directed Ruth down to the bathroom and then went to wake Olivia.

"Liv, baby, wake up" He said as he shook her shoulder gently. She jumped up immediately.

"What, what's going on Bri? Why are you home so early?" She asked as she looked at the time.

"I wanted to get home to make sure you were okay" He explained, "Liv I need your help. When I was on my way home I saw this girl ready to jump from the roof. She is ok I caught her before she fell. Anyways she is only a teenager, maybe fifteen years old and her name is Ruth. She is in the bathroom changing her clothes. She got soaked so I gave her a pair of your sweats and your old NYPD hoody." Olivia listened to Brian intensely. She couldn't help but smile. Over the past few months he had really grown up and the way in which he was handling the situation at hand showed just how much he had matured.

"Ok Bri I'm just going to get changed out of my pyjamas and then we can both talk to her when she comes back." Explained Olivia.

What had started as a quiet night was now turning into something that would affect both Brian and Olivia more than they would know.

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So what do you guys think? This is my first Bensidy story so I want to know if you think I should continue or not. The whole 'Her Negotiation' episode and what happened will all be relieved.

Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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Olivia returned fully dressed from her room minutes later. She was a little startled to see that Ruth had not yet returned from the bathroom.

"Ruth hasn't come back yet?" Questioned Olivia. Brian sensed the worry in her voice.

"You don't think she would try anything would you?"

"I'm sure she hasn't but maybe one of us should go and check up on her." Suggested Olivia. As Brian looked her in the eyes she could see that he did not want to go, not because he simply didn't want to but because he was scared of what he might find.

Olivia knew that on the inside Brian was still that young man who had to leave SVU because he couldn't take it. He couldn't handle the heinous crimes that they faced on a daily basis. He couldn't handle the toll that the job took on his emotions. Now years later, even though he had grown a lot he still was scared. He was scared if Ruth had indeed hurt herself.

"Its ok Bri, I will go. Why don't you make a fresh pot of tea and ring Cragen and fill him in." Olivia tried to reassure Brian with a smile but it didn't seem to ease the worry that she could see in his eyes. She hated to see him so fragile. She hadn't seen him like this since her attack. Since then he had tried to stay strong around her. She placed a tender kiss upon his head to ease his worries before she made her way to the bathroom.

As she reached the door she could hear Ruth crying. She felt bad for this girl. She was still so young but her life had obviously become so bad that she felt the only way out was to end her life. The thought scared Olivia, how could someone so young end up feeling like that?

Olivia knocked on the door gently on the door.  
"Ruth are you okay in there?" She asked politely.

"Yeah, can you come in for a minute?" Replied Ruth. Olivia was a little surprised by Ruth's forwardness. She had expected her to not want her help at all but Olivia took this to be a good sign.

"Yeah sure honey, will you unlock the door?"

Olivia heard the lock click and Ruth pulled open the door. For the first time Olivia got a good look at the child before her. She was tall and very skinny, unhealthily so. Her eyes were sunken in her face and she looked so fragile.

Ruth could see Olivia looking at her. She hated the way she looked and hated to seem so fragile in front of others.

"I must have hurt my leg when Brian….got me" Explained Ruth. As she lifted the leg of the sweatpants that Brian had given her Ruth showed Olivia the cut on her leg. It wasn't too deep but there appeared to be a lot of blood around it.

"Oh honey, here sit on the side of the tub and I will run and get the First Aid kit. Hold your leg up so it doesn't swell." Olivia was now worried about Ruth. Her cut wasn't deep but the amount of blood coming from it was worrying. Olivia ran to the kitchen and grabbed the first aid kit from the cupboard.

"What's going on?" Asked a now panicked Brian.  
"She has a cut on her leg and there is so much blood Bri. I think we need to get her to the hospital."

Olivia returned to the bathroom and saw that Ruth looked even worse than before.  
"Ruth are you feeling okay?" Asked Olivia.

"I feel a little weak just" Responded Ruth nonchalantly.

Olivia applied pressure to the gash on Ruth's leg, just above her knee but it did little to halt the bleeding.

"Ruth we need to get you to a hospital, there shouldn't be this much blood" Stated Olivia but Ruth didn't seem to hear her.

"Ruth? Ruth?" Prompted Olivia. But Ruth didn't respond. Olivia shouted for Brian to come to the bathroom and just as he stepped inside the bathroom Ruth's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she began to shake violently.

"Call a bus!" Screamed Olivia.

Almost ten minutes later Ruth had stopped seizing and was being loaded into the back of an ambulance.

"Will you go with her?" Asked a clearly shaken Brian. Olivia nodded and gave him a hug before she stepped into the ambulance.

"I'll meet you at the hospital" Shouted Brian to Olivia just as the doors of the ambulance shut.

Olivia got chills as she sat in the ambulance. The last time she had been in an ambulance was after Fin had saved her from William Lewis. She had been conscious but she had been in so much pain. Brian had been in the ambulance with her, holding her hand and asking for forgiveness. Olivia never blamed him but he had felt guilty for not being there. As she remembered that ambulance ride she remembered how glad she had been to have Brian with her. She had needed him and she knew that Ruth would need someone there for her too.

Olivia carefully took Ruth's hand in hers and squeezed it lightly.

"Don't worry honey, everything is going to be okay" She whispered.

Her heart broke into a million pieces as she saw the tears run down Ruth's cheeks. She was only a child who was scared.

When they reached the hospital Brian was there waiting for them. It was obvious to Olivia that he had cried. He wasn't as strong as people thought and when children were involved he was even more sensitive.

Olivia knew that Brian would make a great father and she would love to have a child with him but she just wasn't sure if that was possible anymore. She thought that she had left it too long. She was taken from her thoughts as Brian put his arms around her. That was exactly what she had needed, a hug from the man she loved. His hug did more than comfort her, it relieved her of her worries, it made her feel loved and it showed that Brian really was her Mr Right.

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So what do you guys think? Please review!


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